GR 243722; (January, 2020) (Digest)
G.R. No. 243722 , January 22, 2020
Cynthia A. Galapon, Petitioner, v. Republic of the Philippines, Respondent.
FACTS
Petitioner Cynthia A. Galapon, a Filipina, married Noh Shik Park, a South Korean national, in Manila on February 27, 2012. Their marriage ended with a divorce by mutual agreement confirmed by the Cheongju Local Court in South Korea on July 16, 2012. Cynthia filed a Petition for Judicial Recognition of the Foreign Divorce Decree before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Sto. Domingo, Nueva Ecija. The RTC granted the petition, recognizing the divorce decree under Article 26(2) of the Family Code and declaring Cynthia capacitated to remarry. The Republic, through the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), appealed. The Court of Appeals (CA) reversed the RTC, dismissing the petition. The CA held that the divorce could not be recognized under Article 26(2) because it was obtained by mutual agreement of both spouses, not solely by the alien spouse. Cynthia elevated the case to the Supreme Court via a petition for review on certiorari.
ISSUE
Whether the foreign divorce decree obtained by mutual agreement between a Filipino citizen and an alien spouse is recognizable under Article 26, paragraph 2 of the Family Code, thereby capacitating the Filipino spouse to remarry.
RULING
Yes. The Supreme Court granted the petition, reversed the CA Decision and Resolution, and reinstated the RTC Decision. The Court ruled that a foreign divorce decree obtained and recognized under the national law of the alien spouse is valid and recognizable in the Philippines, and it capacitates the Filipino spouse to remarry under Article 26(2) of the Family Code, regardless of who initiated the proceeding or whether it was obtained by mutual agreement. The provision applies as long as the divorce is valid under the alien spouse’s national law. The Court abandoned the earlier interpretation that required the divorce to be “obtained solely by the alien spouse” and clarified that the nationality principle applies only to the alien spouse. Since the divorce was valid under Korean law (the national law of Park, the alien spouse), it falls within the scope of Article 26(2). The Filipino spouse’s participation in the divorce proceeding does not alter this effect. Therefore, Cynthia A. Galapon is declared capacitated to remarry under Philippine law.